Molding device

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a molding device for moving at least one molding tool ( 10 ), especially for generating head geometries in plastic containers, by means of a link motion ( 22 ) which brings the respective molding tool ( 10 ) into the closed position at least for dosing the tool. Said link motion ( 22 ) is actuated by a drive ( 24 ). The link motion allows for a novel drive and kinematic concept for the respective molding tool which allows to completely avoid hydraulic drive mean. The drive is preferably an electric drive, especially a step motor.

Processes and devices for production of containers are known in the prior art (DE 199 26 329 A1), ones in which a hose of plasticized plastic material is extruded into a molding mechanism, one end of the hose is closed by heat sealing, and, as a result of generation of a pneumatic pressure gradient acting on the hose, the latter is expanded and is applied to the shaping wall of the molding mechanism to form the container. The plastic container is then filled under sterile conditions by way of a charging mandrel inside the molding mechanism and then hermetically sealed after removal of the charging mandrel to form a specified head geometry, there being two head shaping jaws which may be moved in the opposite direction by hydraulic drive means toward each other to obtain a closing position and away from each other into opening positions. The head geometries to be generated by the head jaws regularly also comprise the neck component of the plastic container—also in ampule form—which, closed by way of a separation point, may be opened for a fluid removal process as soon as the head piece is separated by way of the separation point, by way of a toggle part molded on it and thus removed from the plastic container.

Such processes have been disclosed in a plurality of embodiments and are widely used in packing systems for liquid or paste products, for example, in the disclosed bottelpack 7 system.

The hydraulic drive systems regularly employed in practical applications for the respective feed movement of the molding tool present problems in that any leakage may result in fouling with the fluid, something which results in problems especially when the shaping machines are used for plastic containers in the pharmaceutical and food packaging spheres and in medical technology in general. The maintenance cost is also increased and the hydraulic drive systems do not reach the desired or high cycle frequencies for mass production for the sake of precise positioning of the molding tools.

On the basis of this prior art the object of the invention is to create a molding device for moving at least one molding tool, a tool making it possible to apply modern drive concepts, such as ones in the form of electric or pneumatic drives, the maintenance cost of which is reduced and which permit especially high rates of output of goods to be produced, such as plastic containers, along with high positioning accuracy for the molding tools. The object as thus formulated is attained by means of a molding device possessing the characteristics specified in claim 1 in its entirety.

In the molding device claimed for the invention a link motion control element is provided for moving at least one molding tool, especially one for generation of head geometries in plastic containers; this element moves the respective molding tool to a closing position at least for closing the mold, the link motion control element being actuatable by a drive. On the basis of the link motion control element a novel drive and movement concept is presented for the respective molding tool, one which makes it possible to dispense with hydraulic drive means entirely and by preference to employ an electric or pneumatic drive as the drive means. The link motion control element in question may, however, continue to be actuated conventionally by means of a hydraulic drive if the respective application appears to call for it and rigid requirements have not been set for sterile filling or clean room qualities.

The molding device claimed for the invention with drivable link motion control element for a closing movement with the molding device permits uniform, safe, and position-accurate driving of the respective molding tool and entails only a small maintenance expenditure. The link motion control element may be employed to execute a plurality of opening and closing processes in rapid sequence; with the molding device claimed for the invention this results in high output of goods to be produced, in particular those in the form of blow-molded plastic containers filled under sterile conditions.

In a preferred embodiment of the molding device claimed for the invention the link motion control element has a slot guide in a feed component, one which is engaged by the actuating member, which may be moved into an opening and closing position of the molding tool by a rotation element actuated by means of the drive. Safe and precise positioning control is achieved as a result, along with clearly defined specific closing forces specified by the link motion control element.

In another especially preferred embodiment of the molding device claimed for the invention the feed element operates in conjunction with a rail-guided slide component which may be non-positively moved into the closing position of the molding device by the feed element. By preference the slide component may be moved together with the molding tool into the closing position of the latter, it being possible to reset the molding tool to its opening position by a reset means. A rigid machine configuration for the molding device is accomplished by means of the rail guide referred to and obstructions in operation are reliably excluded by way of the separate reset movement of molding tool and slide component.

In another preferred embodiment of the molding device claimed for the invention the closing force for the molding tool may be specified by way of central adjusting means, preferably in the form of an energy accumulator. Pressure spring elements such as ones in the form of disk springs or the like are suitable for use as energy accumulators. The closing force of the link motion control element may be definitely limited by the adjusting means independently of the force applied.

In another especially preferred embodiment of the molding device claimed for the invention, the molding tools opposite each other in pairs may be moved by a link motion control element synchronously into their closing position. Preferably provision is also made such that two link motion control elements of one slide component may be actuated by gearing actuated by the drive. In addition, provision preferably is also made such that two slide components each with two link motion control elements may be moved in the opposite direction toward or away from each other by way of the rail guide. In this way a total of four molding tools with molding geometries mounted in sequence may be actuated to operate synchronously in pairs in order to generate several head geometries.

The invention is described in greater detail in what follows on the basis of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawing, in which, in diagram form not drawn to scale

FIG. 1 presents a top view of part of the molding device with molding tool in closing position;

FIG. 2 a top view of part of the molding device with molding tool in the opening position, the components of the molding device being juxtaposed along closing separation line I-I to form the molding device as a whole;

FIG. 3 a section along line II-II in FIG. 1.

First a part of the molding device for moving a molding tool 10 is to be described in detail with reference to the lower section of the illustration in FIG. 1. On its free front side the molding tool 10 has trough-like recesses 12 which configure mold halves for generation of head geometries for plastic containers not shown. In order to generate the respective head geometries the molding tool 10 operates in conjunction with a corresponding molding tool 10 a with recesses 12, as shown by way of example at the bottom of FIG. 2 as viewed in the line of sight. The molding tool 10 is connected on its side opposite the recesses 12 to two adjusting components 14 the length of which may be adjusted by way of at least one stop component 16, so that the adjusting components 14 provide a variable contact surface 18. As a result, the molding tool 10 may be oriented on its free front side along a closing separation line I-I. In addition, the molding tool 10 may be reset independently, as is shown in FIG. 2, by way of reset means 20, as, for example, means in the form of a conventional pneumatic cylinder, along a guide (not shown), from the closing position shown in FIG. 1.

In addition, the molding device has for the purpose of moving the molding tool 10 a link motion control element designated as a whole as 22 by way of which the respective molding tool 10 may be actuated along the closing separation line I-I for the purpose of closing the mold, it being possible to actuate the link motion control element 22 by means of a drive 21, preferably one in the form of an electric motor such as one in the form of an electric step motor. For this purpose the link motion control element 22 has a slot guide 26 in a feed component 28, this feed component 28 being integrated into a slide component 30 and being movable together with it into the closing and opening directions of the molding tool 10 along two rail guides 32. The slot guide 26 is mounted so as to move transversely to the rail guide 32 and to the direction of feed of the molding tool 10.

The slot guide 26 is engaged by an actuating member 34 in the form of a cam roller 36 (see FIG. 3). The function of pivoting of the actuating member 34 or cam roller 36 is performed by a rotation component 38 driven by means of a drive 24. This rotation component 38 permits pivoting of the actuating member 34 in the direction indicated by the arrow 40, as seen in the line of sight to FIG. 1, in order to move the feed component 28, together with the slide component 30, from its closed position shown in FIG. 1 backward to an opening position as shown in FIG. 2. For the purpose of movement in the opposite direction into the closing position the feed component 28, together with the slide component 30, is to be fed in the direction opposite that of the arrow 40 by an appropriate pivoting movement by the actuating member 34 (cam roller) in the direction of the closing separation line I-I.

The structure of the rotation component designated as 38 as a whole is presented in greater detail in the illustration in FIG. 3. First the rotation component 38 is received so as to be stationary in a plate-shaped machine mounting support 42 which extends between the two rail guides 32. A vertically oriented drive shaft 46, which is rigidly connected to a toothed rim 48 and is driven by this rim, is mounted in this machine mounting support 42 so as to be rotatable by an appropriate roller bearing 44. On the lower side of the drive shaft 46, and accordingly below the roller bearing 44, a lever piece 50 is rigidly connected to the drive shaft. The cam roller 36, which can rotate freely in the lever piece 50, extends through this lever piece 50 on its free left front side as viewed in the direction of FIG. 3. The slot guide 26 is mounted below the lever piece 50 in the feed component 28, which in turn is an integral component of the slide component 30. The teeth of the driving toothed rim 52, which may be driven by the electric drive 24, in the form of a step motor, for example, mesh with the teeth of the toothed rim 48. The drive direction is indicated by an arrow 54, the molding tool 10 being moved backward into its opening position in the respective direction.

On its free front side the slide component 30 has carrier components 56 which carry the molding tool configured as a sort of movement slide as the molding tool moves into its closing position along the closing separation line I-I by way of the adjusting components 14 and into the closing position opposite the direction of movement of the opposite molding tool 10 a if the latter moves into its closing position along the closing separation line I-I as shown in FIG. 1. In order for it to be possible selectively to adjust the closing forces, there is mounted on the one free end of each rail guide 32 central adjusting means in the form of a disk spring package 58, which in each instance acts on the plate-like machine mounting support 42, which for this purpose is mounted by way of end guides 60 so as to be movable longitudinally on the rail guides 32. If the closing forces now become too high along the closing separation line I-I, the entire configuration of molding tool 10 with slide component 30 and machine mounting support 42 may thus be reset backward against the action of the disk spring package 58. Consequently, safety is also provided if a machine collision unintentionally occurs, especially in the area of the molding tools 10, 10 a.

If, as illustrated in FIG. 1, driving toothed rim 52 with toothed rim 48 is driven in the direction indicated by arrows 54 and 40 by drive 24, the slide component 30 moves back to its initial position as shown in FIG. 2, the feed component 28 also moving into the position to the rear and the cam roller 36 pivoting 180° backward from the position shown in FIG. 1. The carrier components 56 of the slide component 30 are accordingly moved away from the contact surface 18 by the adjusting components 14 and the respective molding tool 10, 10 a is returned by way of the pneumatic cylinder 20 as reset means to the opening position and is then available for another closing process. The pair of molding tools 10, 10 a positioned opposite each other is actuated synchronously by the respective link motion control element 22 of the pair for a closing process for the purpose of executing a molding process. Consequently, the drives 24 for both molding tools 10, 10 a are actuated synchronously in common by way of a central control unit (not shown). The respective synchronous actuation also facilitates ejection of the plastic container by way of its head component produced by the molding tools 10, 10 a. In view of the comparable structure of the two components illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the reference numbers used in FIG. 1 are used correspondingly in FIG. 2. In principle, however, the possibility also exists of using the link motion control element 22 in question to design only one molding tool 10 to be movable and thus of moving the molding tool 10 in relation to a stationary molding tool (not shown) for a molding process. In any event the molding device as described may be used to reach very high cycle frequencies and thus production speeds for plastic containers (not shown). In addition, precise positioning of the respective molding tool 10, 10 a by way of the link motion control element 22 is also possible.

In order to achieve a still higher output rate at least one other molding tool 10 is provided which is mounted in tandem in a row and may be actuated by the central drive 24 as described by way of a corresponding link motion control element 22. Consequently, the configuration as described shown in FIG. 1, as viewed in the line of sight to this figure, above the drive 24 and the other toothed rim 62 may be actuated along the arrow 64 if the slide component 30 is to be moved from its front position shown in FIG. 1 to its rear position shown in FIG. 2. The slot guide 26 accordingly is also oriented in the same direction as described. Consequently, for a longitudinal operating process the cam roller 36 rolls along a circular path around the drive shaft 46 and in the process carries feed components 28 and 30 along in longitudinal movement in parallel with the two rail guides 32, the transverse position of the slot guide 26 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 remaining unchanged. Since maximum force restriction by the respective disk spring package 58 as adjusting means is effected on one side of the rail guide 32, the respective configuration need not be provided in the case of the plate-shaped machine mounting support 42 shown in FIG. 2. 

1. A molding device for moving at least one molding tool (10, 10 a), especially for generating head geometries for plastic containers, by means of a link motion control element (22) which moves the respective molding tool (10, 10 a) into a closing position at least for closing the mold, characterized in that the link motion control element (22) may be actuated by a drive (24).
 2. The molding device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the link motion control element (22) has a slot guide (26) in a feed component (28), which slot guide (26) is engaged by an actuating member (34) which may be actuated by a rotation component (38) which may be driven by the drive (24) into a position corresponding to the opening and closing position of the molding tool.
 3. The molding device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the feed component (28) operates in conjunction with a rail-guided (32) slide component (30) which may be moved non-positively by the feed component (28) into the closing position of the molding tool (10, 10 a).
 4. The molding device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the slide component (30) may be moved together with the molding tool (10, 10 a) into the closing position of the latter and wherein the molding tool (10, 10 a) may be reset by reset means (20) to its opening position independently of the slide component (30).
 5. The molding device as claimed in claims 1, wherein the maximum closing force for the molding tool (10, 10 a) may be specified by way of a central adjusting means (58), by preference means in the form of an energy accumulator.
 6. The molding device as claimed in claims 1, wherein the molding tools, forming a pair each of which is opposite a link motion control element (22), may be moved synchronously into their closing position.
 7. The molding device as claimed in claim 3, wherein two link motion control elements (22) of a slide component (30) may be driven by way of gears actuated by the drive (24).
 8. The molding device as claimed in claim 7, wherein two slide components (30) each with two link motion control elements (22) may be moved toward each other or away from each other in the opposite direction by way of the respective rail guide (32).
 9. The molding device as claimed in claims 1, wherein an electric or pneumatic drive, an electric step motor in particular, is employed as drive (24). 